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He glanced at the empty air. “What do you mean she disappeared?”
“Disappeared as in standing right in front of me and then poof! Gone.”
“Is she a ghost like me?” Ray asked.
“Definitely not, but she isn’t human. She said I had all the information to figure out her identity.”
Nana Pratt joined us on the porch. “I’m stumped. Thenagain, I don’t even know what you are, so I don’t see how I’d figure out someone I haven’t even met.”
My gaze flicked to her. “Does that bother you?”
“Not as much as my arthritis used to bother me.”
“I have no idea how to gauge that response.”
Nana Pratt floated closer to me. “I don’t have to know what you are to knowwhoyou are.”
“I agree with Ingrid,” Ray chimed in. “I know Lorelei Clay, whoever and whatever she is, and I give her my stamp of approval.”
“You have to trust me,” I said. “If it weren’t for me, you’d both be yammering at people on the Other Side.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Ray said, “but I’ve watched you, Lorelei.”
“Not in a creepy way,” Nana Pratt added quickly.
“I’ve watched you,” he continued, “and I’ve seen you put yourself in harm’s way for the sake of others. I’ve seen you step in when the fight wasn’t yours. You didn’t just earn my trust; you earned my admiration.”
I felt a puddle of warmth stream from my center all the way to my outer extremities. In that moment, I realized Ray’s stamp of approval meant more to me than I ever would’ve guessed. “Thank you.”
“If you have any theories about this disappearing tattoo lady, I’d be happy to do a little research,” Ray offered.
“And I can read over his shoulder,” Nana Pratt said.
“You can do more than that,” I told her. “I’ve seen you turning pages.”
“Oh, I know, but it takes a lot out of me. I haven’t gotten to Ray’s level yet.”
Both ghosts had enthusiastically embraced their poltergeist abilities, mainly due to a desire to read in the afterlife. Ray had started first and, therefore, had progressed faster than the elderly woman.
“I wouldn’t object to assistance,” I told them. “If you can figure out which books you need from the library, I can pick them up for you.”
“I’ve been doing well typing on the computer keyboard,” Ray said. “Some of the letters are a little more resistant to my touch, but I feel good about it, if only the internet were more reliable.”
I was mildly afraid of what my search history would include once Ray was able to use the computer without any issues, but that was a problem for Future Lorelei.
I gave them a rundown of everything I knew about Addison to date.
“Can you describe the tattoos?” Ray asked. “Are they the normal ones?”
“What are the normal ones?” I asked.
“Well, you said she’s a white woman in her late twenties. I’m thinking a rose, Chinese letters that she doesn’t know the meaning of, or a dolphin.”
I let loose an inelegant snort-laugh. “Addison isn’t your standard twenty-something white woman, remember? Her tattoos are symbols.” I opened the front door. “Come inside, and I’ll draw them for you.”
I did my best to recreate as many of Addison’s tattoos as I could and left the drawings with Ray, who was already immersed in his efforts to find matches online.
Once Phaedra dropped off the specialized containment cell, I filled a sling with weapons and prepared to hunt game both big and small.
